Does Old Age Social Security Help Children? The Impact of Social Security on Grandchild Resources
Though Social Security is typically considered a program to support retirees, nearly one in ten children live in a home with Social Security income. Children are substantially more likely to live with an older adult than they were two decades ago, and they are twice as likely to report Social Security income in their household as traditional cash welfare. We use the sharp increase in eligibility for Social Security benefits at age 62 to investigate the role played by the Social Security program in childhood economic resources among children who live with their grandparents. We do not find that Social Security eligibility increases household income on average, but it is associated with a shift towards Social Security income and reductions in deep poverty. We also see increased availability of household members’ time for home production.
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